Mood: Annoyed
Drinking: Agua
Ugh.
Shoulda known better. The internet can be such an fickle, ugly beast. One day you poke it with a stick and it rolls over and giggles. The next day, it rips that stick out of your hand and beats you soundly about the brains with it.
So I said what I thought about a few boring blogs (which I was oh-so-careful not to call out by name, ‘cuz that would just be rude), and suddenly all hell breaks loose.
So far I’ve been called a bitch (not so shocking, really) and some earnest blogger posted on another site that when I prefer other names for this section (example: “newsletters” instead of “blogs”), calling it a newsletter is like putting an ugly Christmas present in saran wrap. Doesn’t make a whole lotta sense, but whatever. Personally, I think saran wrap is cool. All shiny and squeaky. You can even use it as a murder weapon.
So, here’s a little bit of background info for the newbies who came to my site out of righteous idignation to defend the blogs they assumed were in danger:
First, let me explain that I don’t consider myself to be a writer because I have one book of poetry out on the shelves. I call myself a writer because that is how I have made my living for more than 10 years. Words pay the bills. And I may not have 15 novels on the best seller list, but you’ve seen my words everywhere…they just didn’t have my name attached. I’ve chosen to make my living by writing for someone else, so that, on my own time, I can do the kind of writing I really want to do the way I want to do it. Because unless you die young or sell your soul to Hallmark, poetry doesn’t pay the bills.
Furthermore, you can come up with cute little analogies all you want, but really, this whole web site is NOT a blog. It is a site that was created 4 years ago to promote a book, photography and performance art. This little “She Says” section was an afterthought that was added last fall when the site was redesigned. It was supposed to be a little bit of croutons to top off the salad. So that’s why there are other sections of the site with self-promotional stuff in them (like oodles of photographs).
See, this isn’t live journal or typepad or diaryland. This web site doesn’t exist so that I can write about my exciting trips to the grocery store. The point of this whole web site is everything BUT this page. And yeah, if you have a web site with your name as the url, you are trying to get some attention. But I’m not angling for blog fame. I’m just another artist out there hawking her wares. The right kind of attention to this web site can get me another book deal. Another spoken word gig. Another magazine piece. Whatever. Attention is a tool of the trade.
Internet drama is so ridiculous. It’s so easy to jump to conclusions and call people names when you never have to actually look them in the eye.
Let’s all move on to a new topic, yes? How about ham in a can? Tasty, or not so much? You decide.
Lo, backing away slowly.
LaDonnaWitmer 